Borg
Jarl Borg was the fierce and cunning Jarl of Götaland. Biography History Jarl Borg was once married, though less than an hour after, his new wife died when his brother poisoned the drinks at their wedding feast. At her death, Borg kept his wife's skull, seeking advice from it. Season 1 Jarl Borg is a powerful and important leader in Götaland. He believes himself the legal owner of some lands King Horik also claims as his. Wanting to resolve the land dispute, the king sent Ragnar Lothbrok. When Ragnar arrived, Borg continued to refuse to cede his land to King Horik, whom he considers to be a foreign king with no legitimate claim to anything. He remained unwilling to make deals or compromise, and insisted that he will not accept the king's payment for him to renounce his claim. Ragnar then sent the king's emissaries on their way, and it was then clear that the only path they were taking was heading towards war. While Ragnar allied himself with King Horik, Jarl Borg manipulated Rollo, using his insecurities to his advantage, and convinced him to fight with him. Season 2 Alongside Rollo, Jarl Borg fought against the united forces of Ragnar and King Horik. The battle ended, however, when Rollo gave up, unable to fight Ragnar himself. During the assembly that followed, Borg and Horik continued the battle with an argument, only to be stopped by Ragnar and his speech about raiding the West. Persuaded, Borg and Horik finally agree on terms, in addition to raiding together some day. Four years after, Borg travels to Kattegat, eager for the raids. King Horik, however, still finds himself unable to trust him, so he had Ragnar take him out of their plans. Jarl Borg was furious to find out that they decided to break their agreement. He had even tried to coax Rollo into betraying Ragnar again, though he failed and was instead punched in the face. At the feast of his wedding to Torvi, Jarl Borg announced that they will be attacking Kattegat in retaliation of Ragnar and Rollo's betrayal. Although he blamed King Horik more, he wanted to take advantage of the vulnerability of Kattegat. Borg's ships sailed up the fjord to Kattegat, with Borg fighting his way into the town, wielding an axe in each hand. The attack was a success, killing most of the town's defenders. Borg sought out Rollo, intent on vengeance for his treachery and blaming him for putting them in their situations in the first place. Though Rollo escaped, Jarl Borg still reveled in his victory, entering Ragnar's hall with mirth. When he went to the Seer for a reading, the Seer predicted an eagle in his future. Borg's wife soon became pregnant. When Ragnar returned to Scandinavia after hearing of the invasion on Kattegat, Jarl Borg was ecstatic upon hearing about Ragnar's return, looking forward to fighting and defeating him. Unbeknownst to him, Ragnar had since received support and reinforcements from his son Bjorn and ex-wife Lagertha. In the night, they sneak into the village to burn the winter supplies of grain. Jarl Borg, enraged by this attack and taking the bait, is drawn out of Kattegat with his forces to hunt down thosee responsible for the intrusion, only to be confronted by Ragnar and his men and allies. After a brief but fierce battle with casualties on both sides, Jarl Borg escaped with his remaining men, retreating from Kattegat. After their attack on Wessex, the forces of Horik had been greatly reduced. Horik advised Ragnar to reestablish their alliance with Jarl Borg, who had ships and men to allow them to raid in the West again. At Horik's suggestion, Ragnar sent Rollo to Jarl Borg with the proposal. Borg, after consulting with the skull of his dead first wife, accepted Ragnar's offer and soon came to Kattegat with his ships and men. That night, Rollo had the barn sheltering Borg's forces set afire and captured Jarl Borg, without the knowledge of King Horik . Ragnar had Borg brought into the Great Hall and, barely containing his vengeful fury, informed him that, for threatening his family, he'd be subjected to the blood eagle, a horrible and torturous form of execution. Jarl Borg is held captive in Kattegat awaiting execution. King Horik tries change Ragnar's mind about executing Borg, as they need his men and ships to attack Wessex. Ragnar, however, has sent word to other possible allies to replace Jarl Borg in their alliance. King Horik, with the help of Siggy, secretly visits Jarl Borg and is proposed a deal in which Horik would help Borg escape so he can kill Ragnar, who seems to have the ambition to rise above being earl, possibly even replacing Horik as king. King Horik tells Jarl Borg he agrees to his proposal and and that he has men not as loyal to Ragnar as they seem who are willing to help Jarl Borg escape his execution. However, Ragnar's former wife Lagertha, now an earl herself, arrives as a new ally with four ships and around one hundred warriors. Having no use for Borg anymore, King Horik voices no further objection to Jarl Borg's execution. He allows Borg to continue to hope, however, since hope would make death even more horrible. Blood Eagle - The Death of Jarl Borg Someone enters Jarl Borg's cell in Kattegat, late at night. At first, Borg thinks it's King Horik coming to free him. Unshackled, Jarl Borg exits his cell, carrying the skull of his late first wife, thinking his escape is at hand. Jarl Borg emerges into the torchlit town square of Kattegat, and his hopes are dashed. The entire population of Kattegat is awaiting. Seeing that no hope of escaping his fate exists, Borg is seemingly resigned to the inevitable. Kattegat is decked out in barbaric splendor for the grim spectacle. Drums beat and mounted skulls seem to grin mockingly in the flickering torchlight as the doomed jarl approaches a platform set in the center of the throng. Waiting on the platform is a grim-faced Ragnar, clad in a long, white tunic, not a trace of mercy in his icy eyes. Removing his cloak, Borg throws the garment to his pregnant wife, Torvi. Assuming the position between two posts, Borg places the skull of his late first wife on one of the posts, then kneels. Ragnar starts with a skinning knife, opening Borg's back up the spine. The planks of the platform are soon slick with the blood of the jarl. With the flesh of the back laid wide open, Ragnar takes a hatchet and proceeds to hack the ribs away from their moorings on either side of the spinal column causing the rib cage to spring open and expose the lungs. During the process, overcome with the grief and horror of her husband's suffering and imminent death, Borg's wife, laden with the unborn child the jarl will never see, faints to the ground. Taking Borg's lungs in his hands and drawing them from the gaping chest cavity, Ragnar drapes them over the stoically-suffering jarl's shoulders. Without the diaphragm to expand and contract the lungs, the jarl of Götaland dies not long thereafter from suffocation. Enduring the torturous, horrific death without uttering a cry, Jarl Borg - a Viking to the last - proves himself worthy of Valhalla. Trivia * Jarl Borg belongs to a distinctive Norse tribe known as the Gautar, a people referred to in English works such as Beowulf and Widsith as the 'Geats', and related to the Germanic Goth tribes which invaded the western Roman Empire. The Gautar have since been assimilated by the Swedes in the Medieval period. * Jarl Borg and his peers, King Horik and Ragnar Lodbrok, appear to belong to different tribes of Norse Vikings: Jarl Borg is a Swedish-based Geat (Goth), Ragnar and his people of Kattgat are likely Norwegians, and King Horik is the overlord of the Danish people. Appearances Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Season 1 Characters Category:Season 2 Characters Category:Deceased Characters